Uncertain future for wife of ex-Gov. Javier Duarte

Former Governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte with his wife Karime Macías. (Photo: Debate)

Deputy prosecutor Elías Beltrán clarified that neither the wife nor the close family of the former governor of Veracruz has pending arrest warrants.

Mexico City — Karime Macías Tubilla, wife of Javier Duarte, is not wanted by the Mexican justice system and can walk freely in the country and in any territory she wishes.

This information was confirmed by Alberto Elías Beltrán, Deputy Attorney General for International Affairs of the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría Generál de Justicia, PGR, in Spanish) at a press conference from the Mexican embassy in Guatemala.

Former Governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte with his wife Karime Macías. (Photo: Debate)

The deputy attorney clarified that neither Macias Tubilla nor the close family of the former governor of Veracruz has arrest warrants.

“Karime has no request for provisional detention within the process of extradition that is being carried out so they are free, have no situation to face Mexican justice. Then they can move freely in Mexico and in the country that corresponds,” said Alberto Elías Beltrán.

Javier Duarte de Ochoa was arrested Saturday April 15 in Panajachel, Department of Sololá, Guatemala, when he was staying in the Riviera de Atitlán a tourist resort about 140 kilometers west of the capital, in company of his spouse.

“The family is not being followed up or extradited, so we have no knowledge or if they are investigating their immigration status,” said Omar Hamid García Harfuch, head of the AIC.

Duarte was arrested in compliance with the Red Notice issued by Interpol for the probable responsibility in the crimes of organized delinquency and operations with resources of illicit origin.

The former governor has been notified of the provisional arrest for extradition purposes to be presented to the Mexican justice system and is being held in the Matamoros Barracks while the extradition process is being carried out.

After his arrest and a judge let him know the reason for his capture, Duarte was transferred to the capital and detained in the Matamoros prison, located inside a military barracks.

The 43-year-old former governor of Veracruz arrived in the capital guarded by at least two dozen Guatemalan policemen and at his admission to prison said, “I have no comments, thanks” to questions from The Associated Press.

Duarte ruled Veracruz from 2010 until October 12, 2016, when he resigned his term, less than two months from completing his period on the grounds that he could attend to allegations of corruption against him, but shortly thereafter he disappeared.

For three days, Guatemalan and Mexican authorities tracked Duarte, who was arrested around 8 pm Saturday at a hotel where he was with his wife, said Manuel Noriega, deputy head of Interpol in Guatemala. The former leader had received a call from the Mexican prosecutor’s office that said he was located and that he left the room to a common area to be detained by the police, he added.

The fact was communicated by the dependency on its Twitter account; the ex-governor of Veracruz was captured in Guatemala.

Duarte left voluntarily, was not armed and nothing was seized, said the official.

Veracruz is the second former governor of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of President Enrique Peña Nieto in being arrested in less than a week.

The case of Duarte has been one of the most sensitive to public opinion due to the high level of violence that was experienced in Veracruz during his government, with thousands of dead, disappeared and dozens of clandestine graves, in addition to impunity and corruption that reigned in the region.

Since the issuance of an arrest warrant against them, Mexican authorities located millions of dollars linked to Duarte, froze one hundred bank accounts and reviewed properties and businesses linked to Veracruz, while he had boasted that he had not stolen a peso of public funds. The ex-governor allegedly used ghost companies to transfer public resources to acquire real estate both in Mexico and abroad, authorities said.

It has not been made public yet where his wife is now, and if she will follow closely the process of her husband, who is expected to be extradited to Mexico.

After being presented to a judge, Duarte was transferred in a patrol car escorted by police to the Center of Deprivation of Liberty Matamoros Jail, a prison located inside a military detachment in the Guatemalan capital, while waiting to appear before the judge who turned his arrest warrant with effect of extradition

On October 18, a federal judge granted the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) the arrest warrant sought against the former governor of Veracruz Javier Duarte for his probable responsibility in the crimes of organized crime, money laundering and tax evasion.

Duarte was also wanted by Interpol in 190 countries that form the organization.